Christine Boule has been a Client Insights consultant with Circana for just over 11 years, working with Starbucks, Nestle, and McCormick. She’s known for data storytelling, with a reputation for outside of the box thinking, and bringing the art of the possible to life for her clients. Christine lives in Chicago, and loves taking advantage of all of the great restaurants, neighborhoods, live shows, pretending the Bears and Cubs are good, spending time with family and friends, and planning her next adventure.

Sai studies how digital platforms and e-commerce services impact consumer behavior and market processes. His research focuses on how changes in market thickness on C2C platforms retain local biases after the integration of asymmetric markets. He also examines how online grocery shopping affects consumer purchasing patterns in both developed and developing settings, highlighting shifts in shopping habits due to digital channels.

Sai uses machine learning techniques to capture latent patterns in large sets of shopping data, enabling the identification of comparable shopping trips or products. Building on this, he applies econometric and causal inference tools to evaluate the substantive research questions.

Sai is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Marketing at Cornell University and will soon join Singapore Management University as an Assistant Professor of Marketing.

With over 30 years in retail, Diane Colgan brings a depth of valuable and diversified leadership experience to Northeast Grocery, Inc. (NGI). Her career reflects consistent achievements in driving marketing strategies, innovation, cost-effective sales, and business insights that produce dynamic business results.  

In 2021, after 13 years with Tops Markets and with the merger of Tops Markets, Price Chopper, and Market 32, Diane’s responsibilities expanded to include marketing oversight for both operating companies. Her previous roles with BI-LO as part of Ahold, Piggly Wiggly, and Gerber Products Company also helped her prepare for her current position where she oversees company brand portfolios, marketing, advertising, digital commerce, pricing, and decision support/ business analytics areas for a combined footprint of 300 stores and 50+ fuel/convenience stores, nearly $7 billion in company sales, and with more than 30,000 employees across six northeastern states.  

Diane lives in East Amherst, NY with her husband Michael and cherishes her family time with her two sons as well as volunteering and board positions with the East Buffalo 5/14 Memorial Commission, United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Williamsville NY Central School District as a wellness board representative. 

Joe Frick is a distinguished sales and business development expert specializing in data-driven marketing strategies for retailers. He has helped clients exceed customer acquisition and retention goals through smart, creative and ethical uses of marketing data for over 30 years. An active industry speaker, board member, and mentor/advisor, Joe is known for his high-energy approach and continual pursuit of knowledge, currently enhanced by his EMBA studies at NYU Stern. His expertise spans strategic planning, data analysis and innovative marketing solutions.

As Vice President of Retail for Delaware North, Donna Genesky oversees all aspects of retail operations for the Parks & Resorts, Travel and Australia divisions of the global company. Donna joined Delaware North in 2007 as a director of retail for the Delaware North Sportservice division. In 2010, she transitioned to the role of regional director of retail, focusing on retail operations at TD Garden while overseeing retail operations at other professional sports venues in the Northeast. Prior to joining Delaware North, Donna’s career included more than 25 years of retail management, marketing and branding experience with companies such as Federated Department Stores, Hickey-Freeman Company and PetSmart Direct. Donna earned a bachelor’s degree in retail management at Purdue University. She has served on the boards of Westminster Economic Development Initiative, Mental Health Advocates of WNY and Shakespeare in Delaware Park.

John has over 30 years of senior sales leadership supporting the adoption of brand and retail data and data-drive technologies. Most recently John worked with Alert Innovation to support retailer adoption of Alert’s robotic, automated e-grocery fulfillment system until its acquisition by Walmart.

John has worked in executive roles at IRI and Kantar Consulting in their retail virtual reality group. John helped build several data-driven technology startups including personalized marketing firm Concept Shopping and wireless, perishable shipping monitoring provider Locus Traxx.

John currently advises brands and retailers how to support optimization of automated fulfillment systems and optimization of other data-driven brand and retail technologies through brand and retailer collaboration and innovation. John is also engaged with unique approaches to offer more effective retail media network capabilities.

Professor Kalyanam is the L.J. Skaggs Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the Retail Management Institute, at Santa Clara University.  With research and expertise in retailing, internet & multi-channel marketing, Dr. Kalyanam develops a distinctive cutting-edge curriculum and delivers innovative learning experiences. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and insights into the future of retail, having previously lead executive seminars on Internet Disruption, the Future of Retail and the Amazon and Wal-Mart Effect in Retailing.

He has served as Faculty Director of the Executive MBA program, a visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, a guest faculty in the Stanford Executive MMP program, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of SpinCircuit Inc, a provider of supply chain integration services to the electronics industry and  served on the Board of Directors for Overstock.com. 

Dr. Kalyanam advises early stage startups and designed and delivered the first Retail University program at Google and today is developing the 3rd generation of this program. It is through his strong connections, he is able to engage industry collaboration for RMI and the retail studies program. 

Kirthi finds inspiration in Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit, expanding the boundaries to connect ideas, and organizations through RMI’s retail study students and transformative programming. He is committed to discovery through the blending of the retail and technology industries.  

He received his Ph.D. in business administration from the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University.

Kristopher Keller is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his Ph.D. in Marketing from Tilburg University in the Netherlands. His research falls into two streams: (i) private labels and (ii) responsible retailing, which looks at initiatives in the retailing industry and its implications for society such as healthier shopping habits (reducing sugar content, soda taxes) or environmental effects (plastic bottle deposits, bans of paper store flyers). His work has been published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, and the Journal of Retailing and has earned him multiple awards, including the AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Award for Responsible Research in Marketing.

At Kenan-Flagler, Kristopher teaches marketing core courses and he has received the Weatherspoon Award for Excellence in MBA Teaching. He serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, and Journal of Retailing.

Before academia, he was active in the jewelry business—an experience that, while fascinating, confirmed his preference for studying retail strategies rather than running them. When not analyzing data, he enjoys contemplating whether his own grocery shopping behavior always aligns with his research findings (spoiler: it doesn’t).

Scott joined Northeast Shared Services in May 2023 and currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief information Officer (CIO). 

Scott is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of driving digital and IT transformational growth in the retail industry. With over 20 years of experience, he previously served as Executive Vice President, CIO at BJs Wholesale Club, where he provided strategic guidance on the art-of-the-possible leveraging technology to achieve desired business outcomes, including omni-channel, merchandising, demand planning, supply chain, logistics, customer loyalty, financial management and business operations. 

Prior roles include: Executive Vice President, CIO at Belk; Senior Vice President, Products Technology, at GSI Commerce and Senior Manager, Accenture. 

Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He serves as CIO, Council Chair (volunteer) for the NRF (National Retail Foundation), is an eclectic reader, an avid recreational golfer and huge Philly sports fan. 

A digital commerce executive with 15+ years experience in eCommerce, general management, and digital marketing in various product industries. Expertise in DTC, marketplaces (ie: Amazon), and digital wholesale. Proven leader with an enthusiasm for data, analytics and leveraging Gen AI for business optimization. Passionate about building innovative teams and driving sustainable, profitable growth. A believer that trial and error is the way to succeed. 

Coming soon!

A strategic business leader with nearly two decades of experience managing internet marketplaces around the globe, Vikas joined ACV in 2019 as Chief Operating Officer. In his role, Vikas manages tactical and strategic operations at ACV, where his teams are relentlessly focused on delivering the best customer experience every day.

Prior to joining ACV, Vikas held several leadership roles in North America and Europe at eBay for over a decade. These included launching and running the payments initiative for North America, growing the German consumer marketplace, overseeing and scaling operations for Canada’s largest classifieds site Kijiji, seeding and blitz-scaling classifieds businesses in Italy, Belgium, and Turkey, and overseeing a global technology program that supported 20+ markets. Prior to joining eBay, Vikas ran a technology program and sourcing strategy for Allstate’s independent agent business unit.

Vikas received a bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of Florida and two master's degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including a degree in technology policy. Outside of the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, reading, and a wide variety of sports.

Professor Jens Nordfält is a Professor in Retailing at the University of Bath, and the director of the Bath Retail Lab (https://bathretail.com). His research focuses on traditional retailing and retail digitalization. His works have been published in journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, and more. One of his books has been awarded marketing book of the year. Jens has received best paper awards from several journals, and he serves on many editorial boards. He has received prizes as entrepreneur of the year and influencer of the year for his efforts to bridge the gap between academia and the retail industry.

Hemant Sangwan is a professor at Seneca Polytechnic and a sessional lecturer at Schulich School of Business, York University, and Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He teaches courses in AI, data science, analytics, economics, marketing research, strategy, and statistics at undergraduate and graduate levels. He has also led executive education and bootcamp modules in marketing analytics, Python programming, and data science at other leading institutions (Questrom School of Business, Boston University and Hult International School, Boston) outside Canada.

He brings a unique blend of academic rigour and real-world expertise to problem-solving in areas like growth strategy, branding, pricing, CRM, and new product development. With 12+ years of industry experience, Hemant has worked in management consulting, data science, marketing research, and economic forecasting, serving clients across financial services, CPG, retail, telecom, and construction sectors. He has held roles at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), GfK Canada, and IHS Markit. His ability to merge research, analytics, and strategy makes him a valuable educator and consultant in today’s data-driven world. He is the co-founder and director of HS Advisory Inc., a consulting firm specializing in survey research, digital marketing, brand communication, strategy, and analytics.

In addition, Hemant extended his expertise to political strategy, having advised candidates in municipal and federal elections on campaign finances, voter segmentation, branding, and social media strategies.

Hemant holds a PhD in Management from Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and an MS in Quantitative Economics from the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi.

Sivaramakrishnan Siddarth is an expert in the development and use of response models to understand consumer and market behavior. His research has been published in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Management Science, and Marketing Science among others. Professor Siddarth currently serves on the editorial board of Marketing Letters. He is a recipient of the O’Dell outstanding paper award from the Journal of Marketing Research, the USC Mellon Award for excellence in mentoring graduate students, the Evan C. Thompson Faculty Teaching and Learning Innovation Award, and several Golden Apple teaching awards.

Erinn is the Executive Vice President of Operations at Mower, a full-service advertising, PR, and marketing agency. She leads operational strategy to drive efficiency, collaboration, and growth across the agency. Steffen spearheads Mower’s financial services specialty, helping regional banks and credit unions strengthen their brands, enhance customer engagement, and drive business growth. Steffen has deep expertise in financial marketing, brand strategy, and customer relationship strategies.